This invention relates to aircraft passenger safety. More particularly, it relates to apparatus for preventing the ejection of passengers from the cabin of an aircraft which has undergone cabin wall failure at high altitude.
When a passenger aircraft is flown at high altitudes, it is necessary to pressurize the cabin with air to provide a suitable environment for the passengers. It has been found that an aircraft which has undergone a large number of pressurization cycles will begin to show signs of fatigue on its outer walls, for example rivets have become loosened. Also if there is an explosion or other sudden increase in pressure within the aircraft, a portion of the outer wall may fail. Furthermore, if the aircraft is hit by a projectile such as a missile, outer wall failure may also occur. These situations have resulted in the removal of a portion of the outer wall, exposing the cabin passengers directly to the low pressure on the outside of the aircraft. An example of outer wall failure is shown in FIG. 1. This sudden failure of the outer wall and sudden depressurization of the cabin results in a rapid movement of cabin air to the outside of the aircraft which can be sufficient to physically suck passengers out of the aircraft.